Alex Murdaugh trial – live: Bombshell rehab call reveals Murdaugh confessing to ‘side of road’ shooting plot

After a dramatic u-turn by the judge, jurors in Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder trial finally heard testimony about the bizarre September 2021 roadside shooting.

Three months after the murders of his wife and son, Murdaugh claimed he was ambushed and shot in the head in a drive-by shooting.

Jurors heard the 911 call Murdaugh made, his hospital interview with police, and a phone call with investigators a few days later, which he made from a rehab facility.

In the phone interview, Mr Murdaugh confessed he had in fact orchestrated the entire botched hitman plot with Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith so his surviving son Buster would inherit a $10m life insurance windfall. He also dismissed any drug connection with the murders of Maggie and Paul on 7 June 2021 in Islandton, South Carolina.

Also on Thursday, the court heard gripping testimony from a crime scene expert who recreated the details of the brutal murders.

Physically assisted by the lead prosecutor, Dr Kenny Kinsey showed the court the angles at which Murdaugh’s son and wife were shot at close range by the family’s dog kennels. He also revealed the likely cause for a tread mark on Maggie’s calf.

Alex Murdaugh murder trial

• Alex Murdaugh trial shown sketch of fake shooter in failed hitman plot

• Alex Murdaugh trial hears bizarre 911 call after botched hitman plot

• Alex Murdaugh trial: Killer ambushed son and shot wife as she fled

• Moment Murdaugh is asked by police if he killed wife and son

• Court hears Murdaugh was spending $50,000 a week on drug habit

• Murdaugh police interview exposes wild inconsistencies between his alibi and witness accounts

Murdaugh trial shown new crime scene photos as dog caretaker describes kennels on odd state

08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A man who took care of the dogs at Alex Murdaugh’s property has testified about strange details in crime scene photos at the disgraced legal scion’s murder trial.

Roger Dale Davis, who handled Mr Murdaughs’ dog kennels in the sprawling property of Moselle in Islandton, South Carolina, was called by the state to testify on Tuesday at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Alex Murdaugh trial shown new crime scene photos as dog caretaker testifies

Murdaugh spent $50,000 a week on drugs

06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh spent a staggering $50,000 a week on drugs which he was buying from the man accused of being his co-conspirator in a botched hitman plot, jurors heard in dramatic courtroom testimony on Wednesday.

Defence attorney Jim Griffin brought up Mr Murdaugh’s pricey opioids habit during cross-examination of SLED Special Agent David Owen – the lead investigator in the brutal murders of Mr Murdaugh’s wife Maggie and son Paul.

Mr Griffin claimed that the disgraced attorney was buying $50,000 worth of drugs each week from Curtis Edward Smith, infamously known as “Cousin Eddie”.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Alex Murdaugh spent $50,000 a week on drugs before wife and son’s murders

Prosecution and defence score wins in testimony of lead investigator

04:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A crime scene expert testified about where the shots were fired at the wife and son of Alex Murdaugh and in what order during Thursday’s testimony at the disgraced South Carolina attorney’s double murder trial.

Kenny Kinsey also told jurors that a mark on 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh’s thigh appeared to be a tread from a golf cart tire that she fell on after she was shot near dog kennels on the family’s property. Defense lawyers had asked several witnesses about the blemish and whether it could be a mark from a shoe.

Read on:

Prosecution, defense get wins with Alex Murdaugh lead agent

‘Did you kill your wife and son?’

03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Newly-released footage has revealed the dramatic moment that Alex Murdaugh was first confronted by law enforcement for the first time about allegedly killing his wife and son.

Footage of a police interview with the disgraced legal dynasty heir was shown for the first time in Colleton County Courthouse on Wednesday as the prosecution nears the end of its case in his double murder trial.

The interview was Mr Murdaugh’s third since the 7 June 2021 murders – and came two months on from the slayings on 11 August 2021.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Dramatic moment Alex Murdaugh is first asked by police if he killed his wife and son

Key revelations from the Alex Murdaugh murder trial, so far...

02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

It’s a dramatic saga that now includes murder, a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and a series of unexplained deaths.

The now-disbarred attorney denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Murdaugh’s trial got underway at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on 23 January.

The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case this week (week of 13 February) before the defence begins its own case, where Mr Murdaugh is expected to take the stand.

Here are the key revelations from the trial so far:

‘Confession’, bloody scene and ‘clean’ shirt: Key moments from Alex Murdaugh trial

Why was the bizarre hitman plot allowed as evidence?

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp explains.

Alex Murdaugh’s botched hitman plot can be presented at trial, judge says in reversal

Murdaugh’s detailed sketch of fake shooter in botched hitman plot exposed at trial

00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury in Alex Murdaugh’s trial has finally been presented with evidence of his botched hitman plot months after the murders of his wife and son - including a sketch of the nonexistent man he claimed shot him.

Read on:

Alex Murdaugh’s detailed sketch of fake shooter in botched hitman plot revealed

Murdaugh grimaces as trial hears his bizarre 911 call after being shot in the head

Thursday 16 February 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A visibly uncomfortable Alex Murdaugh grimaced as prosecutors played his 911 call after he was shot in a botched hitman plot.

On the nineteenth day of Mr Murdaugh’s trial, juries heard a bizarre call he made to 911 dispatchers moments after being shot in the head on 4 September 2021. The shooting happened nearly three months after his son Paul and wife Maggie Murdaugh’s murders, which Mr Murdaugh is now accused of perpetrating to distract from his many financial and legal troubles.

Mr Murdaugh initially claimed he was ambushed in the drive-by shooting while changing a tyre on his vehicle but soon after admitted to conspiring to pay a hitman to shoot him dead so that his surviving son Buster would inherit a $10m life insurance windfall.

Andrea Blanco reports on today in court.

Alex Murdaugh reacts to trial hearing his 911 call after being shot in the head

Murdaugh trial hears how killer ambushed Paul before shooting Maggie on her knees

Thursday 16 February 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh allegedly ambushed his son Paul in the feeding room of the family’s dog kennels before turning on his wife Maggie who tried to flee only to be shot and killed on her knees, according to chilling testimony from a top crime scene expert.

Dr Kenny Kinsey, an Orangeburg County sheriff’s deputy and crime scene expert, gave graphic testimony in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina on Thursday, where he walked jurors through each moment of the horrific 7 June 2021 attack.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Alex Murdaugh trial hears killer ambushed Paul before shooting Maggie on her knees

Cousin Eddie v Composite sketch

Thursday 16 February 2023 21:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 16 February 2023 21:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Court has a hard stop at 4.30pm today, so defence attorney Dick Harpootlian will forgo cross-examination until 9.30am tomorrow morning.

Court adjourns.

Thursday 16 February 2023 21:06 , Oliver O'Connell

The audio recording ends.

Agent Kelly is asked follow-up questions.

Waters establishes with Mr Kelly that Murdaugh never mentioned Eddie to SLED before confessing to arranging the roadside shooting.

Agent Kelly also says Murdaugh said there was no threat to Buster Murdaugh and denied that Eddie had anything to do with the June murders.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Agent Kelly finds it hard to believe he didn’t pay Eddie anything to shoot him.

“I’ll be honest, that doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Murdaugh replies: “I understand.”

Watch: Court listens to Murdaugh phone interview with SLED

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Most germane to the double-murder case, Murdaugh says there is no threat to Buster and that he does not owe any money to drug dealers and there was no outstanding debt.

Griffin jumps in and says that that is assuming Eddie passed on all the money.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:47 , Oliver O'Connell

In an odd part of the interview, Harpootlian has to admit that the money Murdaugh was using was “not legitimately obtained”.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Agent Kelly takes over the questioning and asks how long he has known Eddie.

Murdaugh immediately apologises for lying to him at the hospital after the incident, saying he was in a bad place.

He says he’s known Eddie for years and would pay him in cash or check several times a week for pills.

Murdaugh explains the money came from the fake Forge account at Bank of America or the Palmetto State Bank accounts.

Asked where Eddie got the drugs, he says: “I was told he got them from a black guy in Walterboro. I was told that he has some connections in Beaufort.”

“I never saw those guys. I never dealt with those guys. So I don’t know.”

He also names someone called Kenny Hughes and Barbara Mixon, who worked for his mother.

Murdaugh also explains that the .38 revolver had come from his mother’s house.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Dick Harpootlian conducted the phone interview with Murdaugh as he sat with him on the phone with SLED Agent Kelly.

The interview ends with Murdaugh clarifying that his intent was for his son Buster to inherit from the life insurance.

Harpootlian appears surprised that Eddie didn’t try to talk him out of it.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Explaining who Eddie is, Murdaugh says he sometimes paid him $50k to $60k a week for pills.

He says he asked Eddie to meet him near his mother’s house.

“I told him that things were getting to be really bad and it would be better off if I was not here.”

“I asked him to shoot me,” said Murdaugh. “I think at first he was a little surprised.”

Eddie agreed Murdaugh said and he gave him a .38 revolver.

They drove out to Salkehatchie Road and Murdaugh punched a hole in his tire with the knife which he threw across the road.

He shot him in the very back of the head and Murdaugh says he lost his vision for a bit an was knocked down.

Murdaugh remembers one car stopping and trying to help him and one continued going by.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Harpootlian says on the recorded interview that they do not want to talk about what happened at Moselle or what happened with the finances.

Murdaugh tells the investigators that he had met with his friend Chris Wilson that morning and had spoken about everything — finances, pills, lies...

“I was in a very bad place. I thought it would be better for me not to be here anymore. I thought that it would make it easier on my family for me to be dead.”

“I had a fair amount of life insurance ... $10m or $12m.”

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Agent Kelly tried to set up an interview with Murdaugh via attorneys Harpootlian and Griffin.

He had entered into rehab in Atlanta.

Eventually, a phone interview was set up and carried out on 13 September 2021.

The interview is now being played to the jury.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Transaction slips from Cousin Eddie’s bank account show hundreds of thousands of dollars in deposits that were tied back to Murdaugh and dated up until 7 June 2021.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Having obtained surveillance footage from St John’s Baptist Church they began to look for a Blue Chevy with a gold front panel.

The car was observed outside of Cousin Eddie’s home where they also found narcotics and a sales ledger.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:12 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh was desperately trying to get access to his phone while in the hospital.

Agent Kelly testifies that he even tried to bribe nurses to let him use his phone.

Apparently, he got his phone and called Curtis Edward Smith. Investigators traced that phone number back to Cousin Eddie.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh was asked to work with a composite sketch artist to try and identify his alleged assailant.

He still did not know who it was.

Here’s the composite sketch:

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Examining the scene, officers found a small grey utility knife in the grass on the other side of the road.

There was no sign of debris in the road that Murdaugh claimed had caused his tire to go flat.

Murdaugh’s DNA and that of Curtis “Cousin Eddie” Smith were found on the knife.

Thursday 16 February 2023 20:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Kelly describes the vehicle as a newer model dark blue Chevy pickup with sport tires.

The shooter he says was a “nice-looking” white male, aged 30-40 with facial hair and close-cropped hair.

He said he did not know the person but would recognise him again.

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:58 , Oliver O'Connell

The court is then shown bodycam footage from within the ambulance that responded.

Murdaugh is asked to help identify the vehicle of the person who stopped to help him as he is treated for what appears to be a small-caliber bullet wound.

Agent Kelly testifies that Murdaugh’s story was consistent each time he told it.

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes and the jury is played Murdaugh’s 911 call from the roadside shooting incident.

"I got a flat tire and I stopped, someone stopped to help me and when I turned around they shot me."

In pictures: Kenneth Kinsey reconstructs how the gunshots hit Maggie and Paul

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Kelly testifies about the 911 call Murdaugh made that day.

There is a technical difficulty playing it, but he surmises that he informed the operator that he had been shot by a motorist who stopped to help him change a tire.

The jury is temporarily sent out of the room.

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Kelly is here to testify about the response to Murdaugh being shot at 1.36pm on 4 September 2021, on the side of the road in Hampton County.

When he responded he first went to Savannah Hospital where Murdaugh had been taken and then to the scene where he found the late Maggie Murdaugh’s black Mercedes SUV.

The vehicle had run-flat tires (a feature on certain types of tires in which they remain operable after a puncture). In this case, one tire had a small puncture mark on the side as if done with a blade.

New Witness: Senior Special Agent Ryan Kelly, SLED

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes and the jury is brought back in.

Judge Newman clarifies why he appointed a jury foreperson before the break — not common practice in many states where the jury picks their leader. He says that juror does not have more influence than others.

Who’s who in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial

Thursday 16 February 2023 18:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp explains who the key players in the case are:

Who are the key players in Alex Murdaugh murder trial?

Court hears Murdaugh spent $50,000 a week on drugs

Thursday 16 February 2023 18:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh spent a staggering $50,000 a week on drugs which he was buying from the man accused of being his co-conspirator in a botched hitman plot, jurors heard in dramatic courtroom testimony on Wednesday.

Defence attorney Jim Griffin brought up Mr Murdaugh’s pricey opioids habit during cross-examination of SLED Special Agent David Owen – the lead investigator in the brutal murders of Mr Murdaugh’s wife Maggie and son Paul.

Mr Griffin claimed that the disgraced attorney was buying $50,000 worth of drugs each week from Curtis Edward Smith, infamously known as “Cousin Eddie”.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Alex Murdaugh spent $50,000 a week on drugs before wife and son’s murders

Thursday 16 February 2023 18:03 , Oliver O'Connell

After a debate on the spread of pellets from the shotgun, there is a brief redirect from Waters who establishes that shooters and victims can move around.

He asks Dr Kinsey if any of the questioning has changed his opinion as to what happened to Paul.

Dr Kinsey replies that it has not.

Court breaks for lunch and will restart at 2.15pm.

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Here’s a taste of the back and forth.

The second shot could have come from someone crouching after retreating a little after firing the first shot.

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Harpootlian is questioning the angle of the second shot fired at Paul, which came from approximately three feet away at the upward trajectory which seems an odd angle he argues.

Dr Kinsey says he is not aware of any stippling or soot on Paul’s shoulder which others have testified you would have expected to find at that distance.

Harpootlian questions why the shooter would fire from such a low angle.

The two of them go back and forth demonstrating shooting angles with the Benelli 12-gauge shotgun.

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Dick Harpootlian is cross-examining Dr Kinsey. They know each other from previous trials and share a moment of levity to the amusement of the courtroom.

Harpootlian says he won’t be disputing much but asks for some clarifications.

Thursday 16 February 2023 17:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes.

Prior to the break, Dr Kinsey testified that there is little forensic value in investigating the Moselle house as there would be family DNA everywhere.

He also gave a brief answer about his own experience with firearms and noted that 300 Blackout cartridges were hard to come by during the pandemic. We also learned they are louder than a shotgun.

On resumption of questioning, he is asked by Waters if he found any evidence of a struggle between Paul and the shooter.

He said he did not and found no evidence of defensive wounds on either Paul or Maggie.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Court is on a brief break

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Law & Crime’s Angenette Levy notes that we have already heard in court that Paul’s phone was placed there because Murdaugh said he did after it popped out of his pocket.

She also reminds us that there is a reason for the discussion of the mark on Maggie’s calf — because the defence kept bringing it up.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Dr Kinsey is also asked about the positioning of Paul’s phone on his rear end.

His expert opinion is that it was placed there by someone else.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Waters asks Dr Kinsey about the impression found on the back of Maggie’s calf that we have heard about for weeks from the defence team.

A photo is displayed and Dr Kinsey testifies he analysed the impression.

He says there is some kind of biological material evident and that he also looked at the tire of a nearby ATV.

In his expert opinion, he says the mark on Maggie’s leg is from the tire tread impression from the ATV, noting specific individual marks from the specific tire.

The tire was in close proximity to Maggie’s body.

We also learn that the shooter was likely coming from the feed room.

Dr Kinsey says she made contact with the tire at some time and was not run over by it.

The implication is that she backed into it.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Moving on to the shots fired at Maggie, Dr Kinsey testifies that she suffered two or three non-fatal wounds (thigh and abdomen), and then two fatal wounds to the head. There is a wound to her wrist that may have been caused by one of the first two shots.

The initial two shots were fired in quick succession from a distance of four or five feet. She dropped down into a prone position on her hands and knees.

The first fatal shot was fired from behind through her abdomen up through her breast, her jaw, and into her brain.

The shooter then fired a second shot into the crown of the head. There is no evidence her body was manipulated or moved after the shots were fired.

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 16 February 2023 16:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Dr Kinsey testifies that the closer the shooter was to the muzzle of the firearm, the more biological matter would spray onto them.

The shooter would be standing to the right of the door and would have fired upwards. He says there is no way that the shot could have come from above nor no way that the wound was self-inflicted — as the defence has argued.

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Regarding the second shot, Dr Kinsey says any movement was due to gravity as the wound was immediately fatal, ceasing any voluntary movement.

Dr Kinsey testifies that Paul was standing in the doorway when the second shot was fired leaving blood spatter on the door before his body fell forward face down onto the ground outside the feed room.

Pellet defects can still be seen in the door even 18 months later.

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Dr Kinsey testifies that the shooter was standing in the doorway of the feed room when the first shot was fired. A shell was found inside the door.

Paul was standing perpendicular to the door as the wound was oblong and not round.

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Paul’s arms were down indicating he did not feel threatened and may have been ambushed by the first shot.

Buckshot from the first shot broke the window at the back of the feed room.

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Dr Kinsey was brought on to the case in late 2022 to reconstruct the crime scene having reviewed reports and other evidence.

He explains that Paul was standing about in the middle of the feed room when he was first shot in the chest/arm. From the blood droplet evidence, Dr Kinsey explains that Paul stood still for some time before moving toward the door leaving a partial footprint.

New Witness: Dr Kenny Kinsey

Thursday 16 February 2023 15:21 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought in and court is back in session.

The first witness of the day is Dr Kenny Kinsey, an Orangeburg County sheriff’s deputy and crime scene expert.

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Harpootlian doesn’t want statements Murdaugh made at the hospital after being shot in the head in September 2021 admitted into evidence.

Waters counters that the need to be able to relate to the jury the defendant’s claim that he was attacked by an unknown assailant at the side of the road when in fact he had arranged the ambush.

He adds that he intends to streamline the testimony and the two sides are now convening to discuss how to do this.

Court is on a 10-minute break. The jury is yet to be brought in.

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Newman says the defence introduced the relationship between Murdaugh and Cousin Eddie.

In pretrial motions it was established that the roadside shooting was not to be included in the trial it was “a bridge too far”, but the defence has since “built a road over that bridge” as if “they could dance through fire without getting burned”.

He adds that in the introduction of the relationship between Murdaugh and Cousin Eddie they sought to infer that the latter might have been or should have been a suspect in the murder case.

Judge Newman rules: “The state is entitled to explore this relationship between the defendant and Eddie Smith.”

The judge appears to be annoyed by the defence team’s objections as Dick Harpootlian stands to make another point after he has ruled.

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters argues that Griffin’s questions have to be put in context and that opens the door to testimony regarding the roadside shooting.

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters argues that Griffin’s questions have to be put in context and that opens the door to testimony regarding the roadside shooting.

Court resumes

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes with Judge Clifton Newman presiding.

Before the jury is brought in, defence attorney Jim Griffin disputes the court’s perception that he opened the door to the roadside shooting evidence.

He reads out a transcript of yesterday’s testimony from SLED Agent David Owen.

Griffin asked Mr Owen about Murdaugh’s financial crimes and whether he stole to fuel a drig habit, and whether he was buying the drugs from Curtis Smith (Cousin Eddie). He does not mention the roadside shooting incident of Labor Day weekend 2021.

Watch the Alex Murdaugh murder trial - LIVE

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:19 , Oliver O'Connell

What to expect in court today:

Thursday 16 February 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

The trial will resume at 9.30am ET on Thursday.

Prosecutors are likely to wrap up – or be close to wrapping up – their case in court today.

However, after a last-minute aboutface from the judge, it’s possible more witnesses will be called.

On Wednesday morning, Judge Clifton Newman first ruled that jurors could not hear testimony about the bizarre September 2021 roadside shooting – which later turned out to be a botched hitman plot.

Then, at the end of the day’s proceedings, the judge reversed course, saying the defence had opened the door to testimony about the plot itself.

Now, prosecutors may seek to call witnesses about the roadside shooting, which they argue shows a pattern of Mr Murdaugh creating violence in order to make himself a victim.

One of the main witnesses in this line of evidence is Curtis Eddie Smith – his alleged co-conspirator in the plot.

Will Curtis ‘Cousin Eddie’ Smith testify today?

Thursday 16 February 2023 13:45 , Rachel Sharp

Yet again... that’s the question on everyone’s lips.

Curtis “Eddie” Smith is a former law firm client, distant cousin and allegedly drug dealer of Alex Murdaugh – and the man he allegedly conspired with in the bizarre botched hitman plot.

On 4 September 2021 – three months on from the 7 June 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul – the disgraced attorney was ambushed in what he initially claimed was a drive-by shooting along a road in Hampton County.

His story soon unravelled and he confessed to law enforcement that he had orchestrated the saga, paying Mr Smith to shoot and kill him in an assisted suicide plot so that his surviving son Buster could get a $10m life insurance windfall.

On Wednesday morning, Judge Clifton Newman heard arguments from both the prosecution and the defence about whether evidence on the roadside shooting is admissible at trial.

He ruled in favour of the defence, deciding that jurors cannot hear testimony about the plot.

But then at the close of the day’s proceedings, Judge Newman reversed course, saying the defence opened the door to testimony about the plot as they brought it up in their questioning of SLED lead investigator David Owen.

Now, the question remains whether the prosecution will call Mr Smith to testify as it wraps up its case.

Mr Smith is listed as a state witness but it is unclear if they will put him on the stand.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Creighton Waters said that while he is on the witness list “I didn’t say we would be calling him.”

Defence attorney Dick Harpootlian laughed and said “the cross-examination of Mr Smith is something I’m looking forward to”.

New Alex Murdaugh police interview exposes wild inconsistencies in his alibi and witness accounts

Thursday 16 February 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Dramatic footage has revealed Alex Murdaugh being confronted by law enforcement about wild inconsistencies in his alibi in a police interview two months on from the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Footage of the 11 August 2021 interview with Mr Murdaugh was played in court on Wednesday as the prosecution nears the end of its case in the disgraced legal scion’s double murder trial in Colleton County, South Carolina.

In the interview, which has never been seen before, the discrepancies between Mr Murdaugh’s version of events on the night of 7 June 2021 and the trove of evidence and witness testimony revealed at his murder trial was laid bare.

Among the inconsistencies were: how long Mr Murdaugh spent at his mother’s home that night; whether or not he went to the dog kennels; the different clothes he was wearing; the timeline of when he was at his law firm; and the reason Maggie had gone to the family estate that day.

“It wasn’t one inconsistency. It was several inconsistencies within a period of time that were repeated,” SLED Special Agent David Owen testified, adding that Mr Murdaugh was “the only known suspect at that time”.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp delves into the many inconsistencies:

Alex Murdaugh police interview exposes wild inconsistencies in alibi

Moment Alex Murdaugh is asked: ‘Did you kill your wife and son?'

Thursday 16 February 2023 13:15 , Rachel Sharp

Dramatic footage has revealed the moment Alex Murdaugh was asked by law enforcement for the first time if he had murdered his wife Maggie and son Paul two months after they were found shot dead on the family estate.

Footage of the 11 August 2021 interview with Mr Murdaugh was played in court on Wednesday as the prosecution nears the end of its case in the disgraced legal scion’s double murder trial in Colleton County, South Carolina.

Near the end of the interview, SLED special agent David Owen told Mr Murdaugh he had “a few more questions”.

He then confronted him about the murders.

“Did you kill Maggie?” he asked.

Mr Murdaugh replied: “No. Did I kill my wife? No, David.”

When the agent asked “do you know who did?”, Mr Murdaugh said: “No, I do not know who did.”

“Did you kill Paul?” Agent Owen continued.

“No, I did not kill Paul,” Mr Murdaugh said.

He again said that he did not know who had killed his son, before asking the officer: “Do you think I killed Maggie?”

“I have to go where the evidence and the facts take me,” Agent Owen said.

Mr Murdaugh replied: “I understand that. And you think I killed Paul?”

Agent Owen reiterated that he has to go where the evidence and the facts take him as he told him “I don’t have anything that points to anybody else at this time”.

“So does that mean that I am a suspect?” Mr Murdaugh asked.

Alex Murdaugh was spending $50,000 a week on drug habit

Thursday 16 February 2023 13:00 , Rachel Sharp

Alex Murdaugh was spending a staggering $50,000 a week on drugs he was buying from the man accused of being his co-conspirator in a botched hitman plot, jurors heard in court on Wednesday.

Defence attorney Jim Griffin brought up Mr Murdaugh’s pricey drug habit while cross-examining SLED Special Agent David Owen, the lead investigator in the murders of Mr Murdaugh’s wife Maggie and son Paul.

Mr Griffin claimed that the disgraced attorney was buying $50,000 worth of drugs each week from Curtis Edward Smith, who in turn owed money to a local “cowboys gang”.

He grilled Agent Owen about why the members of this unidentified gang were never treated as suspects in the 7 June 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul.

The special agent previously testified that by August 2021, Mr Murdaugh was the one and only suspect in the brutal slayings.

Mr Murdaugh has previously confessed to being addicted to opioids for the last 20 years, prompting him to check into rehab in the fall of 2021.

Mr Smith, also known as “Cousin Eddie”, is Mr Murdaugh’s distant cousin, former law firm client, alleged drug dealer, and accused co-conspirator in the September 2021 botched hitman plot.

Alex Murdaugh’s bizarre botched hitman plot can be presented at murder trial, judge rules in reversal

Thursday 16 February 2023 12:45 , Rachel Sharp

Testimony about Alex Murdaugh’s bizarre botched hitman plot will be admitted as evidence in his double murder trial, the judge ruled in a reversal of his own decision hours earlier.

The move clears the way for the man accused of being Mr Murdaugh’s co-conspirator and drug dealer to take the stand.

Judge Clifton Newman made his final ruling on the matter at the end of proceedings on Wednesday afternoon in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Alex Murdaugh’s botched hitman plot can be presented at trial, judge says in reversal

Murdaugh cries as trial hears gruesome details of wife and son’s deaths

Thursday 16 February 2023 12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Disgraced legal scion Alex Murdaugh broke down in tears as an expert testifying in his murder trial described how his son and wife were brutalised by bullets.

On the sixteenth day of Mr Murdaugh’s double murder trial on Monday, prosecutors called forensic pathologist Dr Ellen Riemer to take the stand and explain the degree of the injuries suffered by Paul and Maggie Murdaugh when they were shot to death on the night of 7 June 2021.

Read on:

Alex Murdaugh cries as trial hears horrifying autopsy details

Will Alex Murdaugh testify at his trial?

Thursday 16 February 2023 12:15 , Oliver O'Connell

According to some reports, Alex Murdaugh will testify at his trial when the defence calls its witnesses.

Legal experts have decried the idea and called the move “a tactic of last resort”.

Andrea Blanco has the details.

Alex Murdaugh expected to testify at murder trial, reports say

Maggie Murdaugh’s sister says Alex told her wife and son didn’t suffer in horrific murders

Thursday 16 February 2023 11:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Maggie Murdaugh’s sister has revealed how Alex Murdaugh reassured her that his wife and son did not suffer when they were brutally murdered.

Taking the stand in Mr Murdaugh’s double murder trial on Tuesday, his sister-in-law Marian Proctor described comments the disgraced legal scion made following the brutal shootings of Paul and Maggie on 7 June 2021.

Andrea Blanco reports for The Independent.

Maggie Murdaugh’s sister says Alex told her wife and son didn’t suffer during murders

The story of Alex Murdaugh’s spectacular fall from grace

Thursday 16 February 2023 09:15 , Oliver O'Connell

On the surface, Alex Murdaugh had it all.

He was a high-powered attorney who ran both his own law firm and worked in the local prosecutor’s office.

He was the son of a powerful legal dynasty that dominated the local South Carolina community for almost a century.

And he was a family man who lived with his wife and two adult sons on their sprawling country estate.

But over the last 19 months, Mr Murdaugh has experienced a spectacular fall from grace, culminating in what has been described as the “trial of the century” now taking place in a courtroom in Walterboro, South Carolina.

Alex Murdaugh trial: Story of the legal scion’s spectacular fall from grace

A timeline of murders, financial fraud, unexplained deaths and arrest

Thursday 16 February 2023 07:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Disgraced legal dynasty heir Alex Murdaugh is currently on trial in a South Carolina courthouse for the murders of his wife and son.

Mr Murdaugh, 54, is accused of shooting Paul, 22, twice with a shotgun and Maggie, 52, five times with a rifle on the family’s sprawling hunting lodge in Islandton on 7 June 2021.

He was arrested more than a year later in July 2022 and charged with their murders.

In the 19 months since the brutal double murders propelled the Murdaughs onto national headlines, a series of other scandals, allegations and alleged crimes have also come to light.

Here’s a timeline of the key moments in the case:

Alex Murdaugh: A timeline of murders, financial fraud, unexplained deaths and arrest

Key revelations from the Alex Murdaugh murder trial... so far

Thursday 16 February 2023 05:15 , Oliver O'Connell

It’s a dramatic saga that now includes murder, a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and a series of unexplained deaths.

The now-disbarred attorney denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Murdaugh’s trial got underway at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on 23 January.

The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case this week (week of 13 February) before the defence begins its own case, where Mr Murdaugh is expected to take the stand.

Here are the key revelations from the trial so far:

‘Confession’, bloody scene and ‘clean’ shirt: Key moments from Alex Murdaugh trial

ICYMI: Maggie Murdaugh kicked Alex out of home after suspecting he had an affair

Thursday 16 February 2023 03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Murdaugh’s past alleged extramarital affair emerged on the seventeenth day of the trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

The prosecution sought to have new testimony from Maggie Murdaugh’s sister Marian Proctor — including details about Mr Murdaugh’s affair more than a decade ago and his opioid use — admitted in court on Tuesday. The murder trial is now in its fourth week at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina.

Andrew Blanco has the details.

Maggie Murdaugh suspected Alex had an affair 15 years ago, sister tells trial

Watch: Video of Murdaugh’s interrogation played in courtroom

Thursday 16 February 2023 02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh’s bizarre botched hitman plot can be presented at murder trial, judge rules

Thursday 16 February 2023 01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Testimony about Alex Murdaugh’s bizarre botched hitman plot will be admitted as evidence in his double murder trial, the judge ruled in a reversal of his own decision hours earlier.

The move clears the way for the man accused of being Mr Murdaugh’s co-conspirator and drug dealer to possibly take the stand.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Alex Murdaugh’s bizarre botched hitman plot barred from double murder trial

New Murdaugh police interview exposes wild inconsistencies between his alibi and witness accounts

Thursday 16 February 2023 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Dramatic footage has revealed Alex Murdaugh being confronted by law enforcement about wild inconsistencies in his alibi in a police interview two months on from the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Footage of the 11 August 2021 interview with Mr Murdaugh was played in court on Wednesday as the prosecution nears the end of its case in the disgraced legal scion’s double murder trial in Colleton County, South Carolina.

In the interview, which has never been seen before, the discrepancies between Mr Murdaugh’s version of events on the night of 7 June 2021 and the trove of evidence and witness testimony revealed at his murder trial was laid bare.

Rachel Sharp has the story.

Alex Murdaugh police interview exposes wild inconsistencies in alibi

Watch: Murdaugh asked if he killed his wife and son

Wednesday 15 February 2023 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Murdaugh trial shown new crime scene photos as dog caretaker describes strange state of kennels

Wednesday 15 February 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A man who took care of the dogs at Alex Murdaugh’s property has testified about strange details in crime scene photos at the disgraced legal scion’s murder trial.

Roger Dale Davis, who handled Mr Murdaughs’ dog kennels in the sprawling property of Moselle in Islandton, South Carolina, was called by the state to testify on Tuesday at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Alex Murdaugh trial shown new crime scene photos as dog caretaker testifies

Watch: Judge rules ‘roadside incident’ testimony allowed

Wednesday 15 February 2023 22:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Wednesday 15 February 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is excused for the day.

Judge Newman reverses his earlier decision and says that the defence has opened the door for all the testimony relating to the roadside shooting and Cousin Eddie.

Court is now in recess until 9.30am on Thursday.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 22:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Grubbs also looked at Maggie’s phone.

The phone interacted with its internal camera at 8.54pm. Minutes after the murders are thought to have taken place.

The phone recorded a “snapshot” of Facebook for the dock so people can scroll through the apps they have open in the background.

We learn again there was no orientation change of the phone.

Not entirely sure what we learned from this witness.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 22:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Grubbs also looked at when the phone’s backlight came on or off — i.e. when the screen came on. There are many ways in which the phone could go on and off. Touch, rotation, an app alert etc.

The screen was off between 8.49pm and 10.18pm. It comes back on again for 12 seconds, then off, and then back on at 10.20pm, again for a few seconds. The phone then died at 10.34pm.

He testified that the last text Paul received was from Rogan and went unread.

This is similar to the evidence we have heard before regarding cell phones.

Depending on the settings, a person may have seen the text from Rogan displayed on the screen. It is even possible they picked up the phone and put it back down without registering an orientation change.

New Witness: Steve Grubbs, South Carolina AG’s office

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:57 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness is Steve Grubbs of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. He is an expert in internet crimes against children and deals with computer forensics.

He is asked about Paul’s phone and his battery use and charging patterns. We learn that in the week before the murders, his phone died four times — on 3 June, twice on 5 June, and once on 7 June at 10.34pm, just over 90 minutes after he was murdered.

On the first three occasions the phone was plugged in to charge minutes after it died.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:54 , Oliver O'Connell

On recross-examination, Griffin asks if suspects are supposed to help them solve crimes and Mr Owen says it helps to have information from them.

Griffin asks if he could have searched Murdaugh’s parents’ home at Almeda that night.

He said it’s a large property and wasn’t searched for a while. There was also no indication that Murdaugh was a chief suspect that night.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:51 , Oliver O'Connell

There was a bit of a confrontation between legal teams during the redirect:

Mr Owen says Murdaugh never offered Curtis Eddie Smith as someone who might hurt Paul and Maggie.

Questioning closes with pounding of the table and Mr Owen being asked if Alex ever mentioned anybody else who could have killed his wife and my son on 7 June 2021?

He replies “No.”

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Pushing back on what was an aggressive cross by the defence team, the prosecution focuses on the possibility that Murdaugh transported his bloodied clothes and the guns to his parents’ house in a cooler and wrapped up the blue raincoat.

Asked how long it would take to hide these things at the parents’ property, Mr Owen says it would take five minutes, but the car would still be in the drive and the data would match that.

Mr Owen says he saw a cooler by the skin shed and that the raincoat was seen by Shelly Smith 7 days after the murder, bundled up.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Owen testifies that before the 4 September 2021 roadside shooting, Murdaugh never mentioned any other specific suspects for the murders of his wife and son.

He also never mentioned the drug gang or Cousin Eddie — Curtis Edward Smith.

Mr Smith was only brought up after the September roadside shooting.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

In redirect, the prosecution is taking advantage of the defence team opening the door to the Cousin Eddie, roadside shooting incident.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:26 , Oliver O'Connell

There is a quick conclusion to cross-examination covering the muddy mark on the back of Maggie’s leg; the timing of when Mr Owen knew of the negative blood test; whether Cousin Eddie was skimming money from the drug payments; and why SLED never asked for the clothes Murdaugh was wearing earlier in the evening.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:21 , Oliver O'Connell

As court resumes, the prosecution states that they believe the questioning about how much Murdaugh was spending on drugs opened the door to the roadside shooting.

Judge Newman says that they are in the middle of cross-examination and so now is not the time. The jury is brought back in.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Newman calls an afternoon recess.

The jury is taken out.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin brings up Murdaugh’s drug problem and informs Mr Owen that he was spending $50K per week (!!!) on drugs bought by Curtis Smith, who owed money to the gang supplying them.

SLED didn’t collect DNA from gang members and didn’t put them into the investigative “circle” as Murdaugh had been.

The defence team has brought up both a two-shooter theory and a drug gang several times during the trial in an effort to open up the possibility of other perpetrators to shed doubt on the investigation.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin and Mr Owen go back and forth about the importance of establishing a timeline with Griffin arguing it didn’t matter how long Murdaugh was at his mother’s house that night as the murders had already taken place.

Mr Owen pushes back saying it was an important part of building a timeline of who was where and when.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin says Mr Owen then told the grand jury the same thing.

“Were you mistaken then, or were you trying to trick the state grand jury?”

Mr Owen says he did not mislead the grand jury.

Griffin read his own testimony from the grand jury back to him in which he tells the grand jury there were shotguns at Moselle loaded with buckshot and birdshot.

Griffin states: “And that was not accurate, right.”

Owen concedes it was not.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:51 , Oliver O'Connell

In the video of the interview with Murdaugh, Mr Owen told him that there were other weapons found with both buckshot and birdshot in them. This, it transpires, was an investigative tool to get a response from Murdaugh.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin may have established that the Colleton County grand jury may have been misled about blood spatter evidence before Murdaugh was indicted.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Griffin asks about what Mr Owen told a grand jury about the blood spatter.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Turning to the missing clothes that Murdaugh was seen wearing in the Snapchat video, Griffin aggressively asks why Mr Owen never asked for the location of those clothes.

He accuses the investigation of being too focused on the clothes Murdaugh was wearing when the first officers responded to the scene.

Griffin is arguing that the white t-shirt and other clothes would have had blood spatter on them from the murders if he had been wearing them.

Murdaugh has also claimed he checked pulses on the bodies and tried to turn over his dead son. There was no blood on the clothes from that either.

The clothes Murdaugh was wearing earlier in the evening have never been produced.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Owen agrees that the rifle and shotgun would have gunshot residue and blood on them and would have left traces of that in any vehicle used to transport them.

He says the Suburban and the Mercedes were tested and only one particle of GSR was found on the seatbelt.

Mr Owen contends that the weapons may have been wrapped in the blue raincoat which did have GSR on the inside of it.

Shelly Smith was shown a photo of the raincoat spread out and appeared to recognise the material but could not identify it directly as she had seen it balled up.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Defence attorney Jim Griffin is questioning Mr Owen.

He says that Murdaugh was within the investigative circle from the moment he dialled 911, to which Mr Owen agrees.

Griffin states that he has not been able to get out of that circle and that is why he is on trial today.

Mr Owen states that he is sitting there because there is credible evidence keeping him in the circle.

Griffin contends that whoever killed Maggie and Paul would have two weapons they would have to get rid of and would have biological on them from the murders.

He pushes that there was no search of the Moselle property, the Almeda property, nor the route between the two, and no weapons had been found.

Griffin is pushing that the investigation was in some way incompetent. The defence has argued this before.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Asked if the investigation had found any other credible leads that led them to anyone other than Murdaugh, Mr Ownen replies that there were no credible leads.

No more questions from the state.

Cross-examination begins.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Owen testifies he received the data extracted from Paul’s cell phone on 8 April 2021, and it was then that he found the 8.44pm 7 June 2021 dog kennel video that placed Murdaugh att the scene minutes before the murders.

He is asked if anyone in the world knew the video was on there except Paul who filmed it immediately before his death (before he could send it to his friend Rogan).

Mr Owen replies: “Nobody, to my knowledge.”

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website